Art Car Weekend, Hurricane Survivor Stories, Volunteer for Camp Dos Cabezas
Mark Lacy
-The 20th Annual Art Car Parade
-Two Important Photo Exhibits:
----Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston
----The Life of a Migrant Community
-Volunteer for Camp Dos Cabezas
-Upcoming Topical Events
The 20th Annual Art Car Parade rolls on Allen Parkway on Saturday, May
12, at 1:00pm. The Grand Marshal will be George Clinton.
Art Car Weekend begins Friday, May 11 with the Main Street Drag from
9:00am - 2:00pm. More than 70 art cars will visit more than 30,000
people who otherwise may not be able to experience the parade,
stopping at children's hospitals, schools and community centers. The
caravan departs from the Houston Zoo.
Saturday, May 12 is Parade Day! Many folks enjoy watching the show
before the show - the cars start lining up on Allen Parkway at 9am
between Taft and Shepherd, and everyone is welcome to come and see
them, up close and personal.
The parade starts at 1:00pm at Taft, heads toward downtown on Allen
Parkway, loops around the Heritage Society at Bagby and comes back the
other way. View 250 embellished, augmented and jaw-dropping vehicles
in the world's largest and oldest Art Car Parade!
The Art Car Awards Ceremony takes place on Sunday, May 13 at the
Orange Show Monument from 11:00am - 3:00pm. Cash prizes totaling
$10,000 are awarded in a dozen categories at the Orange Show. Art Car
artists, neighbors, adventure seekers, and families gather for a fun
and festive block party.
Let's hope for good weather this weekend!
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Two Important Photo Exhibits
Houston Institute for Culture presents two important photography exhibits.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are
On display through June 15, 2007
Art League Houston
1953 Montrose
Houston, Texas 77006
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are, is an installation
of photographs and stories featuring Houston-based evacuees and
survivors of the hurricanes.
The Art League Houston and Houston Institute for Culture's exhibition
photographs for Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are,
were taken by Alice McNamara, a native Houstonian who is herself a
survivor of Hurricane Katrina, and was one of the hundreds of
thousands of people who evacuated to Houston in the aftermath of the
storm. McNamara first participated in Surviving Katrina and Rita in
Houston as an interviewer and is now photographing many of the
individuals who have told their story through the project.
The installation photographs are printed large-scale on canvas and
accompanied by the recorded voices of the individuals portrayed.
McNamara has been passionate about photography all her life. In
working on this project, her goal was not to take dramatic photographs
of the survivors. "My intention is that each image, along with the
audio, will capture an essence, allow us to study someone and perhaps
even walk a moment in their shoes. I hope that we were able to do that
in this installation, because it's a powerful and beautiful thing to
stop, listen, and get to know someone; especially someone you might
not normally approach. The SKRH project and this installation haven't
always been easy for me, but they've been an incredible gift."
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are, is part of a much
larger documentary project Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston
(SKRH): A Survivor-Centered Storytelling and Documentation Project,
initiated by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper in partnership
with Texas Commission on the Arts, the American Folklife Center at the
Library of Congress, the University of Houston and the American
Folklore Society. Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston is the first
large-scale project, anywhere, in which the survivors of a major
disaster have taken the lead in its documentation. The project's goal
is to voice, as intimately as possible, the experiences and
reflections of those displaced to Houston by the two major hurricanes
that pounded the Gulf Coast in August and September of 2005. The
stories and accompanying photographs will ultimately be housed at The
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the University
of Houston.
More than a quarter of a million people evacuated to Houston as a
result of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. According to a 2006 city
estimate, more than 100,000 Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees
continue to live in Houston, more than any other city in the United
States. Many of those who remain do so because their homes and
neighborhoods were destroyed beyond repair, rebuilding has been slow,
or they cannot afford the cost of a new home. Others remain because
many social service institutions, including hospitals, schools and
colleges, were also destroyed in the deluge and have yet to be
replaced. And yet others stay in Houston because of family and
friends, or because there are others in the city who share their
languages and cultural traditions.
When the evacuees began arriving in Houston in late August 2005, the
city generously welcomed them with open arms. In the last year,
however, rather than stress compassion and sharing, media reports have
often highlighted expressions of distress and anger, misunderstandings
and misrepresentation. While some treatments of survivors have too
often depicted them as criminals or at best victims, the voices of the
survivors themselves have instead portrayed selfless friends,
compassionate strangers, loving neighbors, and above all heroes.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston gives powerful expression to
survivors of both hurricanes through portraits and voices that are
both intimate and universally understood. Because Surviving Katrina
and Rita in Houston is a survivor-centered storytelling project, it
provides the opportunity for survivors to tell and record their
stories on their own terms. Giving voice to their own experiences,
memories and interpretations, survivors have control over how they are
portrayed, how these historic events are understood now and in the
future, and how they introduce themselves to their new neighbors in
Houston, Texas. One survivor participant sums up the intent of the
project perfectly, "We are not criminals, fools or deadbeats. We have
honor, respect, and pride, in others and in ourselves. We don't want
people either to scorn or pity us. We want them to see us."
Although the principal goal of the project is to record survivors'
memories of their old neighborhoods and of disaster, Lindahl and
Jasper hope it will help the Houston evacuee community. "There is
going to be an enormous component of social healing in this," Jasper
says. "Social healing for the evacuees, but also social healing for
the Houstonians who opened their homes to them."
The Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are installation is
funded in part by the Houston Endowment, Inc., and by the Houston
Institute for Culture through the National Endowment for the Arts, the
Houston Arts Alliance and the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast. The
SKRH project is support from previously-mentioned funders as well as
the American Folklore Society, and the Douglas County School District,
Douglas County, Colorado. Special thanks are also extended to The
Orange Show Center for Visionary Art for their help with this exhibit.
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Growing Season - The Life of a Migrant Community
Photography by Gary Harwood; Text by David Hassler
May 21 - June 22, Open Monday through Friday from 9:00am - 5:00pm
Office of the Consulate General of Mexico
4507 San Jacinto Street
Houston, Texas 77004
713-271-6800
Presented in Partnership with Houston Institute for Culture
If you missed the exhibit in our offices at the Havens Center, you may
still see it through June; we have arranged for its extended stay in
Houston before it travels with us to New York this summer. You may
contact Houston Institute for Culture at 713-521-3686 for more
information or to arrange group visits.
For more information about this exhibit, please see:
http://www.growingseason.net
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Volunteer for Camp Dos Cabezas
Camp Dos Cabezas is seeking volunteers to participate in a week long
camping experience in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeast Arizona or
the Zuni Mountains of Western New Mexico. The camp provides children
from at-risk communities the experience of a lifetime to help them
achieve success in their lives. The children, who are generally 10 to
12 years of age, are nominated by their teachers.
Camp Dos Cabezas utilizes educational resources in Arizona and New
Mexico, including national and state parks, Native American
reservations, museums and private research foundations.
Volunteers who fit the following criteria should contact Mark Lacy at
713-521-3686 to arrange an interview. Positions are limited and
applications will be considered in the order they are received.
-Volunteers must first be concerned with the health and safety of the
children, and second with promotion of educational interests.
-Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age (Over 21 with college
experience preferred).
-Volunteers must participate in all camp activities, including travel,
hiking, education, discussion, photography, meal preparation and clean
up, camp setup and breakdown, communication, and daily logistics and
planning.
-Specific abilities are a plus, such as: first aid training or CPR
certification; Spanish proficiency; experience with educational
activities or games; specialized fields of study in science, art,
history or communications; or, program development.
-Volunteers with special interests are welcome to lead efforts in one
of the main camp components, i.e. educational activities or meal
preparation.
-Volunteers must attend orientation and other preparation meetings as needed.
-They must also consent to a criminal background check.
An even balance of female and male volunteers is sought.
All travel, lodging, admission and meal costs for volunteers will be
covered by Camp Dos Cabezas.
Following the camp, volunteers are encouraged to assist in monthly
workshops and field trips that are offered to the children throughout
the school year.
Opportunities to mentor the children in their studies are also available.
Camp Dos Cabezas itinerary - Sat. May 26 - Sun. June 3
Sat. - Travel
Sun. - Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Mon. - Chiricahua National Monument Visitor Center, Massai Point, Hike
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Tues. - Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, Queen Mine Tour, Walking
Tour of Bisbee, Hike Natural Bridge Trail
Wed. - Cochise Stronghold, Amerind Foundation, Hike Echo Canyon
Thurs. - Saguaro National Park, San Xavier del Bac Mission, Tubac
Presidio State Historic Park, Hike to Tumacacori National Historical
Park on Juan Bautista National Historic Trail
Fri. - Hike Heart of Rocks (eight miles)
Sat. - Travel
Sun. - San Antonio Riverwalk
The full program description for Camp Dos Cabezas, Camp La Ventana and
Camp Chaco is on line:
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp/CampDosCabezas_ProgramDescription.pdf
The Camp Dos Cabezas Sponsorship Booklet is available on line:
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp/CampDosCabezas.pdf
Potential volunteers who would like to meet past camp participants may
join us at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama Street, on Saturday, May
12, 11:00am. The young scholars will be learning the requirements to
apply for a scholarship to attend Camp Chaco, a more advanced learning
experience Houston Institute for Culture offers in the Four Corners
region of New Mexico and Colorado. Please notify us at 713-521-3686 if
you plan to attend.
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Year End Performance and Art Show
Havens Center student projects will be presented, featuring dance,
drumming, theatre, and visual art. There will also be a presentation
of public service messages on air quality and homelessness produced by
the organization we facilitate at the Havens Center, Students for a
Better Houston.
Tuesday, May 15, 4:30pm
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Park at St Stephens Episcopal Church, Alabama at Woodhead.
Please notify Houston Institute for Culture at 713-521-3686 if you
plan to attend.
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Upcoming Topical Events
Houston Palestine Film Festival
Presented by Voices Breaking Boundaries
Daily admission $5; Film Pass for 5 nights $20 (excluding May 13
screening at Museum of Fine Arts Houston)
May 11-13 and May 18-20, 7:00 pm every night
This exciting festival will bring not only cutting edge new cinema
from Palestine about Palestine, but will also present three directors
Lina Makboul, Nida Sinnokrot and Elle Flanders along with political
analyst/ academic/ journalist As'ad Abu Khalil and Rice University
Associate professor Ussama Makdisi.
The first annual Houston Palestine Film Festival brings an honest and
independent view of Palestine and its diaspora's society, culture, and
political travails through the art of film. This group of
groundbreaking cinematic texts rise above the degrading stereotypes or
reductively politicized depictions that are so familiar to
Houstonians. A major goal of the Festival is to directly expose our
local community to the perspective of artists as a first step toward
circumventing the many government and media filters that pollute our
understanding of Palestine and the wider region. Some of the films in
this year's festival include Waiting / Attente (Dir. Rashid Mashrawi)
and Leila Khaled, Hijacker (Dir. Lina Makboul). The first annual
Houston Palestine Film Festival will include film screenings and
conversations with directors and political scientists.
For the film schedule and descriptions, please see:
http://www.vbbarts.org
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The Prison Show Documentary
Sunday, May 13, 8:00-10:00pm
Film and speaker Ray Hill; Conversation with the subject of the film
will follow.
Donations accepted.
5401 Jackson at Prospect (enter on Prospect)
The Artery is northeast of the Children's Museum
http://www.arteryhouston.org
Stay tuned to the on-line calendar for more event information:
http://www.houstonculture.org/calendar
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____________________________________________________
M a r k @houstonculture.org
Houston Institute for Culture
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098